CCAR RESPONSA
“Amazing Grace”
5752.11
She’elah
A Jewish woman would like to have the song “Amazing Grace” sung at her funeral. She also wonders whether it would be appropriate in general Jewish worship, or whether it is so christological that it should not be used in a Jewish ritual setting.
Further, is the word “grace” so distinctly Christian that it in itself disqualifies the song? The author of the hymn in question was a certain John Newton, a slave trader who had a “born again” experience, repented of his evil, and found in religion a new way of life.
Teshuvah
Let us turn first of all to the meaning of “grace”. In Christian theology, it represents the freely offered, and often undeserving, gift of God to an individual or to a people. Two Hebrew terms are the model for this concept: chen and chesed. In the Septuagint, chen is rendered as charis (whence “charity”, this is the word most commonly translated as grace); and chesed as eleos (“mercy”). The idea that God does not forget the undeserving is usually expressed by the divine quality of chesed; for instance, in II Sam. 7:15 (God’s mercy will not depart from David’s offspring even if they commit iniquity) and in other places like Isaiah 54:8. Since Christianity adopted the Pauline emphasis on grace and considered Jesus Christ its main vehicle, the English term grace has been avoided by Jewish writers, even though its antecedents in the Hebrew Bible are firm and formidable.
Thus the English word itself has assumed a christological coloring and its liturgical use would lead us into a consideration of the biblical warning not to walk on the custom of other nations chukkat ha- goyim.1
The avoidance of chukkat ha-goyim in all expressions of living, from ritual practices to daily dress, was enunciated by Maimonides,2 as well as the Shulchan Arukh.3 These texts have been interpreted more stringently at some times and more leniently at others. However, there can be no question that whenever a custom reminded one of other religions and tempted to lessen the distinctiveness of the Jewish heritage, it was considered to fall under the prohibition of chukkat ha-goyim.4
Thus the so called “Lord’s Prayer” which contains traditional Jewish teachings has become firmly connected with Christian worship and therefore, though its individual components are unobjectionable, would not be acceptable in any Jewish setting.
A similar situation obtains for “Amazing Grace”. None of the individual words or concepts of the song “Amazing Grace” in and of itself contradicts Jewish teachings. But its author, John Newton, had been converted under the influence of George Whitefield and John Wesley, became an Angelican priest and a pillar of the emerging Methodist movement. His hymn is a textbook description of a conversion experience in the evangelical Protestant tradition and therefore unsuitable for us.
There are some who believe that a song like “Amazing Grace” has become an expression of contemporary folklore, and therefore the melody at least could be deemed acceptable. We disagree. By analogy, some Christmas and Easter customs have become highly secularized and denuded of specific Christian content, yet they too also fall under the prohibition of chukkat ha-goyim.
Surely there are worthy Jewish melodies fit to sanctify a funeral service, and as for the words one might recall the observation of Solomon Schechter: “A people that has produced the Psalmist, a Rabbi Judah Halevi, and other hymnologists and liturgists counted by hundreds, has no need to pass around the hat to all possible denominations begging for a prayer or a hymn”.5
Notes
Lev.20:23 and 18:3, Ezek. 5:7 and 11:12.
- Yad, Hilkhot Akkum 11:1-3; 12:1.
- Sh. A., Y.D. 178 and commentaries thereto.
See also our responsa on “Blessing the Fleet” and “Flags on the Bimah” in this volume, pp. and .
- Studies in Judaism (New York, 1938), p.136f. One member of the Committee dissented, holding that
on the whole, Reform Judaism has attempted to accommodate such poetry and music, and that its strength has been its ability to incorporate secular material into its liturgy in a way that is consistent with tradition. “At a funeral, I take it, this song would express the woman’s faith that God’s presence had influenced her life and aided her in time of trouble. If the Rabbi is uncomfortable with the words “Amazing Grace”, s/he might have the tune played on a musical instrument and incorporate other more traditional Jewish texts expressing these things, thereby satisfying the woman’s intent”.
If needed, please consult Abbreviations used in CCAR Responsa.